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L/RAIN Temp: 43 °F Wind: N at 4 mph Wednesday, December 11, 2002 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend November 24, 2002 Commentary Oregon State is the latest to kick Oregon when its down By TIM PYLE Mail Tribune CORVALLIS — After an eight-year stretch of unprecedented success, Oregon is now the football team that everybody seemingly has success against — and at unprecedented levels. Archrival Oregon State was the foe using the Ducks as fodder Saturday, squashing Oregon, 45-24, in the 106th Civil War. An orange-clad crowd of 37,154 fans at Reser Stadium took particular delight in the Ducks’ fifth loss in their last six outings. "It seems as though everyone plays their best against the Ducks," said senior defensive end Seth McEwen, a 1998 North Medford High graduate. "They can be the worse quarterback in the conference, but they play like they’re an all-star just because ... I don’t know why. Everyone gets up for the Ducks." The latest quarterback to shred Oregon, which ends the regular season 7-5 overall and 3-5 in Pacific-10 Conference play, was Beavers sophomore Derek Anderson. The 6-foot-6, 235-pounder entered the game eighth in the Pac-10 and 74th nationally in passing efficiency at 117.56. But like Arizona State’s Andrew Walter, Southern California’s Carson Palmer and Washington’s Cody Pickett before him, Anderson victimized the Duck defense for career-best numbers. He completed 21-of-37 passes for 370 yards and four touchdowns. Wide receiver James Newson was Anderson’s primary target, and the slick junior toyed with Oregon’s suspect cornerbacks for career-highs of 11 receptions and 168 yards. His 40-yard touchdown catch with 4:20 remaining was the final nail in the Ducks’ coffin. Despite the offensive orgy for Oregon State (8-4, 4-4), Oregon might have had a chance had it scored on five possessions inside Beaver territory that ended in no points for the Ducks. Sophomore kicker Jared Siegel missed a 44-yard field goal in the second quarter to end one such foray. And in the second half, the Ducks were unable to finish off drives that advanced as deep as the Beavers’ 27-, 10-, 30- and 46-yard lines. Two of those possessions ended with junior quarterback Jason Fife being intercepted, and Oregon State added a third pick with the Ducks at the 50 late in the fourth quarter. "They have a good defense, and we weren’t playing up to par, really," said Oregon senior tailback Allan Amundson, who did his part, coming through with a career-best 79 yards on 11 carries. "We made some mistakes, and we weren’t capitalizing on their mistakes." The Beavers scored 14 straight points to break an early 3-3 tie, but the Ducks answered with two unanswered TDs of their own to make it 17-all at 3:14 of the second quarter. Fife’s 11-yard option keeper completed the second TD drive, after senior wide receiver Keenan Howry’s pretty, 84-yard catch and run past OSU senior cornerback Dennis Weathersby had cut Oregon’s deficit to 17-10 at 7:57 of the second. The Beavers grabbed the lead — and momentum — back in the first half’s final minute by backing the Ducks up to their own 11, then taking advantage of great field position beginning from Oregon’s 38. Senior punter Jose Arroyo, kicking from his own end zone, got off just a 36-yard punt that sophomore Aric Williams returned 9 yards. Making matters worse for the Ducks, Arroyo’s punt was in the air with 14 seconds still remaining on the play clock, and OSU didn’t waste the gift-wrapped extra seconds. Senior wideout Shawn Kintner’s 10-yard TD catch from Anderson capped a three-play march that took just 13 of the half’s 41 remaining seconds. "They certainly got some momentum going into halftime," said McEwen, who made five tackles and finishes 2-2 in Civil War games. "But I still felt very good going into halftime." But as Oregon has done throughout the last month, the Ducks fell apart in the third quarter, getting outscored 14-0 to stumble into a 38-17 canyon. Oregon’s offense managed just two first downs and 39 yards in the period, and the defense couldn’t stop Anderson and the Beavers. "We have to be able to score points every time we have the ball," said Howry, who caught four passes for 142 yards and reenacted last year’s Civil War’s shining moment with a 63-yard punt return for a TD in the fourth quarter. Fife, who finished 14-of-33 for 182 yards and one score against the three interceptions, was at a loss to explain what has become a painful season ever since the 45-42 collapse against Arizona State Oct. 19. "We haven’t lost confidence in each other; we haven’t lost confidence in ourselves," Fife said after being on the short end of the most lopsided Civil War since Oregon’s 49-13 win in Corvallis in 1996. "But there is something missing. There’s some sort of fire that we need to keep alive throughout an entire game." The Ducks’ final chance this season will come in a second-tier bowl game sometime this holiday season. Saturday, meanwhile, was like Christmas in mid-November for OSU — at the expense of the defenseless Ducks. Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search M Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy web master feedback A D V E R T I S E R S